41 ford commercial pickup

D

dicks41

Junior Member
Can anyone tell me how to tell the difference from a 1941 3/4 ton and a 1941 1 ton commercial pickup?
 
Axles and wheels are different. Sheet metal is similar. There are a lot of Tonner guys on the Barn who can add to this.
 
dicks41 said:
Can anyone tell me how to tell the difference from a 1941 3/4 ton and a 1941 1 ton commercial pickup?
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3/4 ton had 16" wheels (wide five pattern) all around, same brakes as a car, one ton had 16" on front and 17" on rear, with what was called a flatbased rim. I have a 41 3/4 ton flatbed truck and have converted to higher speed rear axle and self energizing brakes on front and I use 16" rims that came off a merc 5 on 5"
 
I've had a few tonners and have never seen 16s on the front. 17s all around for sure. I also have never seen a tonner pattern wheel in a 16" size. Maybe the one you were looking at had a replacement front axle from something else. James Wagner's FTS'05 pretty much confirms most of what you said, so you're not far off for sure.
 
GB SISSON said:
I've had a few tonners and have never seen 16s on the front. 17s all around for sure. I also have never seen a tonner pattern wheel in a 16" size. Maybe the one you were looking at had a replacement front axle from something else. James Wagner's FTS'05 pretty much confirms most of what you said, so you're not far off for sure.
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please re read my statement--3/4 ton with 16" wheels wide five like a 36 to 39 car, tonners with bigger rims tire brakes
 
The Tonner has 14 leaves on the rear axle. The 3/4 Ton has either 12 or 13 depending on the body. The Tonner has 17" wheels with the LOCKING RING. The 3/4 Ton has 16" conventional drop center wheels.
 
Photo of 17" wheel with the LOCKING RING. If the truck you're looking at has wheels that look like this its a Tonner.
 

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I have a 1940 and a 1941 and both have the 17 inch wheels with the locking ring. I felt that they were both Tonner pickups but had a hard time finding it in print. I am also trying to determine the GVW for the motor vehicle dept on a one ton. Anyone have any info on that. Thanks a lot! Dick
 
According to the 1940 Ford Salesmen Reference Manual the max GVW on the Tonner was 6,400#'s - the truck weight was 3443#'s. I'm not sure how Ford arrived at the 6400 GVW unless it was a typo in the manual. The tare weight of my truck for licensing purposes in CA was 3,861#'s. When it was weighed the Tonner had overloads and 7.50-8 ply tires on 6" rims which might account for the difference between the Ford manual and the actual weight. For licensing purposes I think you could make a case for a GVW of 5,500#'s.
 
expavr said:
According to the 1940 Ford Salesmen Reference Manual the max GVW on the Tonner was 6,400#'s - the truck weight was 3443#'s. I'm not sure how Ford arrived at the 6400 GVW unless it was a typo in the manual. The tare weight of my truck for licensing purposes in CA was 3,861#'s. When it was weighed the Tonner had overloads and 7.50-8 ply tires on 6" rims which might account for the difference between the Ford manual and the actual weight. For licensing purposes I think you could make a case for a GVW of 5,500#'s.
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You are killing me with that hubcap photo. Please refrain from posting that picture! :D I have 2 pretty nice caps for my tonner panel, but the other 3 are toast. I have filled in with a few 'V8' caps from my old '38 tonner.....
 
I'm not sure it will be legible, but here is some info on your original question from Wagner's book. He is the expert that the early V8 club uses for info specific to trucks. My parents bought me this book sometime in the '8os and I have worn it out.
 

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"nice caps for my tonner panel, but the other 3 are toast." How toasty? All 5 hubcaps on my Tonner were straight off the wheat ranch "toasted" with nicks, dings and small creases. They were pounded out and buffed to the condition you see in the photo. The caps themselves are stainless with a steel rim and the stainless part is workable. Sihillings Plating in Santa Ana, CA did the restoration on them. They charged $75/each which I thought was a bargain considering how many nicks and dings they had.
 
Wow! How do they do that? "Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's hubcap". I also wonder how come some people can post real pictures, and most of us post thumbnails......
 
GB SISSON said:
You are killing me with that hubcap photo. Please refrain from posting that picture! :D I have 2 pretty nice caps for my tonner panel, but the other 3 are toast. I have filled in with a few 'V8' caps from my old '38 tonner.....[/QUOTE
You could always make a set out of wood?
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